Neoscapteriscus borellii
species of cricket-like animal
Neoscapteriscus borellii, the southern mole cricket, is a species of insect in the family Gryllotalpidae.
It is native to South America but is also present in the southern United States where it was introduced around 1900.
Description
Scapteriscus borellii is a fairly large mole cricket growing to a length of about 3 cm (1.2 in). Like other members of this genus, it is characterized by having two sharp claws and a blade-like process with a sharp edge on its forelegs. Other mole crickets have three or four claws. The two claws are separated at the base by a gap half the width of the claw, which distinguishes this species from the tawny mole cricket (S. vicinus) which has claws that nearly touch at the base. The tegmina (forewings) are longer than the prothorax and the membranous hind wings are longer than the abdomen, which distinguishes it from the short-winged mole cricket (S. abbreviatus) whose hind wings are shorter than the forewings and which is unable to fly. The call, sung only by males, usually within two hours of sunset, is a low-pitched trill with a pulse rate of about 50 per second.
Ecology
In its native South America, populations of S. borellii are kept under control by natural enemies, but in the southern United States, where it appeared in the early 1900s, it is regarded as an invasive pest species. It lives in shallow burrows in sandy soil and causes damage to lawns, pastures, golf courses and cultivated plants, primarily through its burrowing activities which loosen the soil, uproot plants and cause the soil to dry out.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Neoscapteriscus borellii” as species of cricket-like animal. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of cricket-like animal. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q48973185. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1900.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Neoscapteriscus borellii” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.